Image displays such as liquid crystal displays, plasma display panels, CRT displays, organic EL displays and the like show remarkable deterioration in visibility when outer light is reflected in its display surface. For preventing such reflection of outer light, there is conventionally provided a film layer of preventing reflection of outer light on the surface of an image display, in televisions and personal computers in which image quality is valued, video cameras and distal cameras used outside under strong outer light, and portable telephones effecting display utilizing reflection light. This film layer is usually classified into those made of a film on which non-reflection treatment has been performed by interference of an optical multi-layer film, and those made of a film on which anti-glare treatment has been performed forming fine roughness on the surface to scatter incident light to shade off a reflection image. Of these, the former non-reflection film has high cost due to necessity of forming a multi-layer film of uniform optical membrane thickness. In contrast, the latter anti-glare film is used widely in applications such as large size personal computers, monitors since it can be produced at relatively low cost.
Such an anti-glare film is conventionally produced by, for example, a method in which a solvent dispersing a filler is applied on a base material sheet and the applied membrane thickness is controlled to cause exposure of a filler on the surface of the applied membrane, forming random roughness on the sheet.
However, an anti-glare film produced by such a method does not necessarily have roughness as intended and an anti-glare function is not obtained sufficiently since the location and form of irregularity of roughness are affected by the dispersed condition of a filler in a solvent, applied condition thereof, and the like. Further, when such a conventional anti-glare film is placed on the surface of an image display, there is a tendency of generation of so-called white browning in which all display surface becomes totally whity because of scattering light and display shows turbid color.
On the other hand, in a micro lens array plate used in liquid crystal displays, concave lens and convex lens are generally placed with regularity, and JP No. 9-21903A describes a micro lens array plate in which adjacent fine lenses are repeatedly placed alternately so that they do not mutually contact. However, even in the case of an anti-glare film obtained by forming roughness of regular disposition on a film as described above, light diffraction occurs due to the distribution of uniform distance between concave or convex lens and a film looks rainbow color to decrease the visibility of a display surface.
An object of the present invention is to provide an anti-glare film in which generation of white browning and decrease in visibility due to light diffraction are sufficiently prevented while maintaining an excellent anti-glare function, a method of producing the same, and a display equipped with this anti-glare film.